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#4 He was the best player on the planet
A look through the NBA GMs' preseason survey revealed that Kobe was, by almost unanimous opinion, the best shooting guard in the league. The margin was wide enough between him and James that a few GMs voted for the likes of Pierce and Melo as the best small forward, even though they were wrong. What this goes to show is that people around the league knew and acknowledged the Mamba's status as the league's best player.
He bore this out during the season as well. Continuing on the same kind of scoring barrages as he had unleashed from the 2004-05 season upon opposing defenses as the focal point of the Lakers' offense, Kobe was a do-it-all guard who would regularly put the clamps on the opposition's best perimeter players when asked to defend them.
On a talent level, he has never been as blessed as MJ, but his will to win and unreal clutch gene elevated the Lakers to a level beyond they looked capable of. He'd been denied a couple of MVP trophies by Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash because of narratives, but the narrative was squarely on his side this season as well.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
